Dulles Taxi Drivers Stage Work Stoppage

Passengers arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport may have a tougher time finding a cab today because of a work stoppage being staged by some Washington Flyer Taxi drivers at the airport.

Most Washington Flyer cabbies were not picking up passengers as of 6:30 a.m. today, according to Dulles Airport spokesman Rob Yingling.

Yingling said there was a brief wait for cabs Monday afternoon, the busiest time of day at the airport. He said it was unclear how many of the approximately 600 cab drivers who contract with the taxi company to pick up passengers at Dulles airport were taking part in the stoppage or how long the stoppage would last.

"It's not an unanimous participation, but enough to warrant other measures," said Yingling. He said passengers going to nearby destinations were doubling up in cabs, other cab companies were picking people up from the airport, and cabbies who dropped off passengers were being allowed to circle around to pick up arriving passengers too.

Washington Flyer Taxi had no immediate comment on its drivers' work strike.

Yingling said the airport had anticipated a stoppage because the company's contract with the airport is expiring this year. He said drivers had staged three similar stoppages in the past six weeks.

He said Washington Flyer Taxis had asked the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission to raise the fuel surcharge from $1 a ride to $2. It had also asked the commission to increase the meter rate. The airport supports these requests in the face of rising gas prices, Yingling said.